Roman Catholic Diocese of Winona–Rochester

Ecclesiastical territory of the Catholic Church in southern Minnesota, United States

The Diocese of Winona–Rochester (Dioecesis Vinonaënsis Roffensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or diocese, of the Catholic Church in Southern Minnesota in the United States. It is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis. The mother church of the Diocese of Winona–Rochester is the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in Winona, with the Co Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist located in Rochester.

The Diocese of Winona–Rochester includes the following 20 counties: Blue Earth, Cottonwood, Dodge, Faribault, Fillmore, Freeborn, Houston, Jackson, Martin, Mower, Murray, Nobles, Olmsted, Pipestone, Rock, Steele, Wabasha, Waseca, Watonwan, and Winona. Within Minnesota, the diocese is bordered to the north by the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis and the Diocese of New Ulm.

Pope Leo XIII erected the Diocese of Winona on November 26, 1889. When Cotter became bishop, the new diocese included 45 priests, eight churches, 15 parochial schools, and two hospitals. Approximately 38,000 Catholics resided in the diocese. Cotter died in 1909. By the time of his death, the diocese had a Catholic population of over 49,000 with 91 priests, 116 churches, and 29 parochial schools with 4,700 students. In 1910, Reverend Patrick Heffron of St. Paul was appointed bishop of Winona by Pope Pius X. He opened Cotter High School in Winona in 1911 and St. Mary's College in Winona in 1912. In 1915, Heffron was shot twice, while celebrating a private Mass, by Reverend Laurence M. Lesches. Lesches had been angry at Heffron for denying him his own parish; Heffron had said he denied the posting due to Lesches' arrogant behavior and emotional instability. Heffron survived the shooting; Lesches was committed to a mental hospital for life. Heffron died in 1927.

Pope Pius XI named Auxiliary Bishop Francis Kelly of Winona in 1928 as the next bishop of the diocese. After 21 years as bishop, Kelley retired in 1949. Pope Pius XII then appointed Auxiliary Bishop Edward Fitzgerald of Dubuque to replace him. Fitzgerald became known as "the building bishop" for his oversight of the construction of the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart, a seminary, and several churches in the diocese. He attended all four sessions of the Second Vatican Council between 1962 and 1965, and subsequently implemented the council's reforms in the diocese, including introducing English into the mass. He promulgated the document "The Church in the Diocese of Winona," which described the local church and the roles of the clergy, religious, and the laity. He initiated the pastoral council, which provided a pastoral leadership role for the laity. He also established the tribunal, the Finance Office, and reorganized the diocese into deaneries. Watters retired in 1986.

To replace Watters, Pope John Paul II in 1987 named Auxiliary Bishop John Vlazny from the Archdiocese of Chicago. During his tenure, Vlazny increased the involvement of the laity, decentralized the diocesan staff, and created the Offices of Youth and Family Life. He also started the tradition of the "Harvest Mass," an annual outdoor liturgy celebrated on a farm. In 1994, Vlazny asked Catholics in the diocese to consider ending gambling as a source of revenue for parishes and schools. In 2008, Harrington commented on the plans of Kathy Redig, a chaplain in the diocese, to undergo an unauthorized ordination. Harrington said that Redig would, in effect, be "self excommunicating" herself from the Catholic Church by this action. That same year, Pope Benedict XVI named Auxiliary Bishop John M. Quinn of the Archdiocese of Detroit as coadjutor bishop in Winona to assist Harrington.

When Harrington retired later in 2008, Quinn automatically succeeded him as bishop. In March 2018, the Vatican renamed the Diocese of Winona as the Diocese of Diocese of Winona–Rochester. In December 2018, the Diocese of Winona–Rochester filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy due to the financial burden caused by the 121 sex abuse lawsuits involving the diocese and 14 priests. As part of its bankruptcy filing, the diocese agreed to not file objections to more plaintiffs being added to the lawsuits up to April 8, 2019. Quinn retired in 2022. As of 2023, the current bishop of Winona–Rochester is Robert Barron, formerly an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. He was appointed by Pope Francis in 2022. In November 2022, Barron announced that the diocese was moving its headquarters from Winona to Rochester and was building a new pastoral center there.

In 1984, court documents revealed that Reverend Thomas Adamson had been accused of sexual misconduct there ten years earlier. In response, Bishop Watters had sent Adamson to a private psychiatric hospital in Connecticut without contacting the police. When Adamson finished treatment, Archbishop John Roach of Saint Paul Minneapolis allowed him in 1976 to transfer there. By 1984, the archdiocese was being sued by a local couple who claimed that Adamson had sexually abused their son, Gregory Riedle. Adamson confessed his crimes in 2014, but was never prosecuted due to the statute of limitations. The diocese in 2013 published a list of 14 priests with credible accusations of sexual abuse of minors. In September 2018, the Minnesota Court of Appeals dismissed an appeal from the diocese to block lawsuits for past cases of sex abuse. In February 2021, the diocese reached a $21.5 million legal settlement with 145 victims of sexual abuse by diocesan clergy as a part of its 2018 bankruptcy filing. In 2022, police arrested Ubaldo Roque Huerta of Rushmore on charges of criminal sexual conduct. Huerta had been drinking with a friend at Huerta's house when he sexually attacked them. The diocese commented that Huerta had been suspended from ministry since 2019 and that the diocese had petitioned the Vatican to laicize him.

John M. Quinn (2018–2022)
Robert E. Barron (2022–present)

Name Tenure George Henry Speltz 1945–1949 Thomas Adamson 1963–1964 James David Habiger 1964–1980 Joseph Marie Kasel 1976–1982 Dominic J. Kennedy 1984–1988 Marsha Stenzel2011–2015; 2022–present

St. Mary's University of Minnesota– Winona